The number of private sector jobs in New York state reached an all-time high in 2017, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And from January, 2017 to January, 2018, the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area had the largest employment growth in the state at 2.1 percent. The Capital District is followed by New York City with a 2 percent growth rate and the Dutchess-Putnam area at 1.9 percent.
Four areas lost jobs with the Elmira area losing 1.3 percent followed by Glens Falls with a .9 percent loss.
News of the record breaking 8.1 million statewide private sector jobs comes coupled with the state’s lowest unemployment rate in a decade at 4.7 percent.
“In 2017, our annual private sector job count exceeded 8 million for the first time and the state’s jobless rate reached its lowest yearly level since 2007,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, director of the state Department of Labor’s Division of Research and Statistics.
The state’s private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Since January, 2017, the sectors with the most job gains in this state were:
-Educational and health services: + 44,000
-Professional and business services: + 30,700
-Financial activities: + 8,000
-Leisure and hospitality: + 7,000
-Trade, transportation and Utilities: + 2,200
-Construction: + 500
The sectors with the greatest job loss were:
-Manufacturing: -4,700
-Government: -100
-Information: -100
The unemployment rate in January, 2018, though, remains unchanged at 4.7 percent, which is higher than the nationwide rate of 4.1 percent.
In New York City it was 4.3 percent, which is slightly lower than the 4.4 percent in December, 2017 and significantly lower than the 4.7 percent in January, 2017.
Outside of New York City it was 4.9 in January, 2018, up from 4.7 percent in January, 2017 but unchanged from December, 2017.
